Victim texts forgiveness to armed robber, who has cross tattooed on face

2014-04-16T22:20:46Z2014-04-17T17:18:28Z

It is the worst experience she has ever had, but she says it changed her life forever for the better because of a text message she sent to the guys who robbed her.

DeAndre Jones, 17, is now locked up at 201 Poplar.

She texted them just 90 minutes after they robbed her.

(WMC-TV) - A Memphis woman is thankful to be alive after staring down a gun barrel. The man holding the gun had a cross tattooed between his eyes.

It is the worst experience she has ever had, but she says it changed her life forever for the better because of a text message she sent to the men who robbed her.

Shasta Moss is the victim.

"It was a, it was a ... It was a very unsettling experience," she said.

Two guys put a gun in her face then took her wallet, ID, cash, and bank card.

"They had hoods on. They covered their faces with their forearms," said Moss.

It happened at an apartment complex. Moss thought she was picking up a woman she knows, with whom she had contracted out a cleaning job. She thought she had been texting with her all day.

"The guy who came to the window had a cross right between his eyes. And I was thinking: this guy has a tattoo of a cross between his eyes and he's robbing me ... How ironic," said Moss.

DeAndre Jones, 17, is now locked up at 201 Poplar.

Police say the night before he robbed Moss, he robbed her employee, stole her phone ... and then lured Moss via text.

"It saddens me that these young men took this route. There is another route," said Moss.

Moss says she has forgiven Jones and his accomplice.

"I said, 'thank you young men for sparing my life,'" she said. "I thanked them for not blowing my head off, for not killing me."

She even sent them another text message.

"'He who lives by the sword, parentheses or gun, shall perish by the sword, parentheses or gun,'" said Moss."'Remember me always. Remember the mercy you two showed me today, and remember Jesus loves you, and so do I.'"

She texted them just 90 minutes after they robbed her.

"They didn't respond," she said.

Moss has always had a Bible nearby. She added a gun for protection after getting robbed, but she says she has never felt more at peace than right now because she has forgiven.

"One can be victimized by a crime and then victimized again by fear, and I refuse. I refuse to allow myself to be victimized again by fear," said Moss.

Only Jones has been booked at 201 Poplar. He goes to court in a week. His bond is $150,000.

Highway Patrol troopers say they are searching for a 2001– 2005 Silver Toyota Sequoia or 2004 – 2005 Toyota Tundra with damage to right front headlight assembly and missing right side mirror. (Source: SCHP)

The South Carolina Highway Patrol is asking for the community’s help in locating a vehicle that was involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash Monday night in Hopkins.